Jul. 29, 2026

                                 “TRIED AND TESTED”

                                   “PAST BLESSINGS”

                                      JOB 29:1-31:40

               REMEMBERING THE JOYS OF THE PAST- JOB 29:1-25

David also understood the power of memory:

Psalm 103:2 “Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits.”

Memory is a gift from God.

Warren Wiersbe put it this way: "If we try to duplicate today what we experienced yesterday, we may find ourselves in a rut that robs us of tomorrow.”?

It is interesting to note that Job begins with his relationship with God.

*Remembering the Reverence of His Faith- Job 29:1-4

Job 29:1-4 “Job further continued his discourse, and said: 2“Oh, that I were as in months past,As in the days when God watched over me; 3When His lamp shone upon my head, And when by His light I walked through darkness; 4Just as I was in the days of my prime, When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent.”

Past Blessings- God uses parables to instruct believers and hide God’s truth from skeptics:

Matthew 13:11 “He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”

vs.3- Job share about God and how He is light:

Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 43:3 “Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your tabernacle.”

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

Psalm 119:130 “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.”

If the light has gone out in your life, grab the Word Of God!

1 John 1:5-9

vs.4- What is “this secret of God?”

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

The secret of God is the Word of God!

Psalm 25:12-14 “Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. 13He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth. 14The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.”

The secret of the Lord is to fear Him!

*Remembering the Relationship With His Family- Job 29:5-6

Job 29:5-6 “When the Almighty was yet with me, When my children were around me; 6When my steps were bathed with cream, And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!"

*Remembering the Respect of His Friends- Job 29:7-11

Job 29:7-11 “When I went out to the gate by the city, When I took my seat in the open square, 8The young men saw me and hid,
And the aged arose and stood; 9The princes refrained from talking, And put their hand on their mouth; 10The voice of nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11When the ear heard, then it blessed me, And when the eye saw, then it approved me.”

Job remembers times of prosperity, he was a man of immense power and influence.- vs.7-8

vs.9- even the princes of the land held their peace when Job walked into the room.

*Remembering His Response to the Fallen- Job 29:12-17

Job 29:12-17 “Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper. 13The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. 14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. 15I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame. 16I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know. 17I broke the fangs of the wicked,
And plucked the victim from his teeth.”

*Remembering His Reliance on the Future- Job 29:18-20

Job 29:18-20 “Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest, And multiply my days as the sand. 19My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lies all night on my branch. 20My glory is fresh within me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.”

Never forget that good times can be more dangerous and deceitful than bad times.

*Remembering the Reward of His Fame- Job 29:21-25

Job 29:21-25 “Men listened to me and waited, And kept silence for my counsel. 22After my words they did not speak again, And my speech settled on them as dew. 23They waited for me as for the rain, And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.
24If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, And the light of my countenance they did not cast down. 25I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, As one who comforts mourners.”

Job's life back then was pretty incredible. But now it was all gone!

2. REFLECTING ON THE JUDGMENT OF THE PRESENT- JOB 30:1-31

Job is now going to travel from the delight of the past to the dismay and disappointment of the present.

We are going to outline what Job sees as he looks at his life in the aftermath of God's dealings with him.

*He Gets No Respect- Job 30:1-15

Job 30:1-15 “But now they mock at me, men younger than I,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
2Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigor has perished. 3They are gaunt from want and famine,
Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste, 4Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food. 5They were driven out from among men, They shouted at them as at a thief. 6They had to live in the clefts of the valleys, In caves of the earth and the rocks. 7Among the bushes they brayed, Under the nettles they nestled. 8They were sons of fools, Yes, sons of vile men; They were scourged from the land. 9“And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword. 10They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face. 11Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off restraint before me. 12At my right hand the rabble arises; They push away my feet, And they raise against me their ways of destruction. 13They break up my path, They promote my calamity; They have no helper. 14They come as broad breakers;
Under the ruinous storm they roll along. 15Terrors are turned upon me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed like a cloud.”

*He Gets No Relief- Job 30:16-31

For Job, there is no end in sight to his troubles. He has not experienced one moment of relief since his world fell apart.

1. His Health Is Gone- Job 30:16-19

Job 30:16-19 “And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me. 17My bones are pierced in me at night, And my gnawing pains take no rest. 18By great force my garment is disfigured; It binds me about as the collar of my coat. 19He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.”

vs.16- to speak of pouring out one’s soul is graphic indeed. The psalmist uses the same words:

Psalm 42:4 “When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.”

2.   His Help Is Gone- Job 30:20-23

Job 30:20-23 “I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me. 21But You have become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You oppose me. 22You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success. 23For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.”

vs.20- these are the same words said by Jesus:

Psalm 22:1-2 “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? 2O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.”

3.   His Hope Is Gone- Job 30:24-31

Job 30:24-31 “Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it. 25Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor? 26But when I looked for good, evil came to me;  And when I waited for light, then came darkness. 27My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me. 28I go about mourning, but not in the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help. 29I am a brother of jackals, And a companion of ostriches. 30My skin grows black and falls from me; My bones burn with fever. 31My harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the voice of those who weep.”

The devastation and demise of his tranquil life is without parallel.

3.  REQUESTING JUSTICE FOR THE FUTURE- JOB 31:1-40

So what will Job do? He is going to lay it all out one more time.

His defense rests on sixteen "If I have" statements that are found in chapter 31.

*His Purity- Job 31:1-4

Job 31:1-4 “I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? 2For what is the allotment of God from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 3Is it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity? 4Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps?”

Job states before God that he made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a woman.

Jesus voiced a similar view in Matthew 5:28.

Matthew 5:27-29 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”

Job committed himself to purity and laid it all out before God.

*His Integrity- Job 31:5-8

Job 31:5-6 “If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has hastened to deceit, 6Let me be weighed on honest scales,
That God may know my integrity.”

*His Fidelity- Job 31:7-12

Job 31:7-12 “If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart walked after my eyes, Or if any spot adheres to my hands, 8Then let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be rooted out. 9“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 10Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her. 11For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment. 12For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase.”

In verses 9-10, Job goes back to the theme that he mentioned in the first part of this chapter: "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door, then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down over her.”

Job's suffering was not the result of any such sin on his part.

*His Impartiality- Job 31:13-15

Job 31:13-15 “If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me, 14What then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
15Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?”

*His Charity- Job 31:16-23

Job 31:16-23 “If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 17Or eaten my morsel by myself, So that the fatherless could not eat of it 18(But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow);
19If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering; 20If his heart has not blessed me, And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; 21If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate; 22Then let my arm fall from my shoulder, Let my arm be torn from the socket. 23For destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.”

In his discussion with his friends, Job had been accused of being insensitive to the needs of the poor. But he strongly denies that!

*His Humility- Job 31:24-28

Job 31:24-28 “If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’; 25If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much; 26If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness, 27So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand; 28This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above.”

*His Hospitality- Job 31:29-34

Job 31:29-34 “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him 30(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his soul); 31If the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’ 32(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, For I have opened my doors to the traveler); 33If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom, 34Because I feared the great multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door.”

Job did not try to pretend to be something that he was not.

*His Activity- Job 31:35-40

Job 31:35-40 “Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark.
Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, That my Prosecutor had written a book! 36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, And bind it on me like a crown; 37I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him. 38“If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together; 39If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or caused its owners to lose their lives; 40Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley.”

Job wants to know the charges that have been filed in heaven against him. He now approaches God without hesitation, putting it all on the line.